Florence + The Machine earns praise for Ceremonials

By IBT Staff Reporter On 11/02/11 AT 3:44 PM

Florence Welch (L) from ''Florence and the Machine'' performs during the Spring/Summer 2012 women's ready-to-wear fashion show by German designer Karl Lagerfeld for fashion house Chanel in Paris October 4, 2011. Photo: Reuters

Florence Welch may be indulging in her own ceremonial celebration on Tuesday after critics praised her widely-anticipated new album, Ceremonials.

After scoring a huge hit with debut album Lungs in 2009, the 25-year-old Welch, lead singer of the British band Florence + The Machine, brought out Ceremonials, a 12-track record exploring themes of love and romance amid death and violence.

The singer reunited with Lungs producer Paul Epworth, and the new album is the new album is receiving mostly positive reviews. Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen called Ceremonials dark, robust and romantic, and praised Welch's ability to turn the ridiculous into the sublime.

The Washington Post's Bill Friskics-Warren called the album an unabashedly big record, adding that listeners should let the majesty and bombast wash over you and not only do these performances redeem their rococo excesses, they deliver their share of catharsis as well.

The Los Angeles Times' Margaret Wappler gave Ceremonials three and a-half of four stars, praising Welch for becoming a better actor, a keener listener and still manages to let it rip on occasion.

But not all critics are sold on Welch's grandiose style in her new record. Kitty Empire of British newspaper The Guardian said the record more closely resembles a banshee convention in a wind turbine. It should come with a scarf.

The Grammy-nominated singer achieved international chart success with singles like Dog Days Are Over and Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), from Lungs, which was inspired by a failed relationship.